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GET REAL

A few days after Christmas, a zoo official carrying a large net and snare knocked on Angie Anderson’s door. He said, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be out front trying to catch this injured owl.” The official had seen the owl in front of Anderson’s house. Since it wasn’t moving and appeared injured, he decided to try and help.

When Anderson heard the news, she burst out laughing. She explained that the owl was not real, and how she had purchased it two years earlier at Wal-mart. When Anderson showed the official the two metal legs that push into the ground holding the plastic owl, he laughed too, then drove away.

In October, Anderson moved to a busy corner in Racine, Wisconsin. Since then, many people have stopped to stare, like the official from the Racine Zoo; many of them believe the owl is real.

A few days after the first incident, a representative of the Department of Natural Resources knocked on Anderson’s door saying someone had complained and he needed to check out the owl. He knew the owl was not real; his concern was that the replica might contain real owl feathers, which is a violation of federal law. Experts determined the feathers were dyed chicken feathers, and the official suggested Anderson hide the owl in her back yard instead of the front. Andersen decided to put the owl right back where it was when she got it back. She has since added a sign that says, “This is not a real owl.”

—Associated Press, Zoo Officials Fooled by Fake Owl, January 20, 2003. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

We may be able to fool other people, but God is never fooled, He sees and knows the truth about each of us.

Luke 16:15 NIV “He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

TRANSPARENCY

People prefer relatable leaders. In his book, The Painful Side of Leadership, Jeff Iorg says that too many leaders are excessively image conscious. They want their followers to believe that they are always right, always in control, and always accurate in their judgments. Leaders are often driven by insecurities to present a façade of competence and that their human selves simply can’t be displayed lest they lose loyalty, respect, and trust of their followers. He goes on to say that getting past all this and learning to take responsibility and admit wrongdoing is essential for developing authentic leadership relationships. —Jim L. Wilson & Craig Wright

The Painful Side of Leadership: Moving Forward Even When it Hurts, Jeff Iorg, p. 61

James 5:16a (HCSB) “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”

TRANSPARENCY

In their book, No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer write, “Self-disclosure builds trust, seeking help boosts learning, admitting mistakes fosters forgiveness, and broadcasting failures encourages your people to act courageously.”

—No Rules Rules, 123

James 5:16 (CSB)

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.